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The Shadow Academy
After the Plague Wars they waited for the invasion. And as the new Dark Age dawns... there is one who can bring light.
In a world little more than a whisper away from ours, the islands of Grand Brittannia lie just off the shores of the deeply forested content of Evropa, the dark and forbidding realm of legends scarcely remembered.
Grand Brittannia, itself almost completely a place of deep forest and mystery, has at its heart the crumbling, anachronistic administrative city of Londonborough. From here the Central Authority wields power over the Islands and exercises its control rigidly and clinically. Since the rigours of the Plague Wars, some hundred years in the past, when almost the entire population of the world was wiped out and the gradual decline of civilization began, industry and technology have atrophied, their development now strictly vetted by the Authority.
Out on the far-flung coasts, a network of ancient fortress ports wait in readiness for an invasion that some say will never come, their ancient, declining Academies committed to the rigours of training the defenders of the Islands. These Academies are subjected to regular inspections by Enforcers from Londonborough, and their native inhabitants are constantly being swelled by the young military graduates from the Authority's own Military Academies in the center. Into a cauldron of intrigue and subterfuge that is the town and Academy of Petra comes Chad Mundy, the Authority's replacement for Drew Vasillius, a veteran teacher who has committed suicide. At least, that is what he's been told...
In a world little more than a whisper away from ours, the islands of Grand Brittannia lie just off the shores of the deeply forested content of Evropa, the dark and forbidding realm of legends scarcely remembered.
Grand Brittannia, itself almost completely a place of deep forest and mystery, has at its heart the crumbling, anachronistic administrative city of Londonborough. From here the Central Authority wields power over the Islands and exercises its control rigidly and clinically. Since the rigours of the Plague Wars, some hundred years in the past, when almost the entire population of the world was wiped out and the gradual decline of civilization began, industry and technology have atrophied, their development now strictly vetted by the Authority.
Out on the far-flung coasts, a network of ancient fortress ports wait in readiness for an invasion that some say will never come, their ancient, declining Academies committed to the rigours of training the defenders of the Islands. These Academies are subjected to regular inspections by Enforcers from Londonborough, and their native inhabitants are constantly being swelled by the young military graduates from the Authority's own Military Academies in the center. Into a cauldron of intrigue and subterfuge that is the town and Academy of Petra comes Chad Mundy, the Authority's replacement for Drew Vasillius, a veteran teacher who has committed suicide. At least, that is what he's been told...
336 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Cole
443 books31 followersAdrian Cole was born in Plymouth, Devonshire in 1949. He is currently the Director of College Resources in a large secondary school in Bideford, where he now lives with his wife, Judy, son Sam, and daughter Katia. He remains best known for his Dream Lords trilogy as well as his young adult novels, Moorstones and The Sleep of Giants.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 18, 2014
*I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review*
Life after the Plague Wars, life is controlled by the Central Authority who governs with an iron fist and allows for little flexibility. The Plague Wars not only caused the death of a majority of the population of earth, it has also caused technology to slowly disappeared and tightly controlled by the Authority. In response to the Plague Wars a series of ports are formed to be ready for an ‘invasion’ that is threaten to come, and to get the people ready for these invasions Academies were created. Despite the rigorous control of the Authority, there are groups of people who are ready to rebel against them and learn the truth about the Plague Wars.
I found myself intrigued by the promise of the synopsis, although when I first read it seemed like another story in a long line of dystopia stories that have come out recently. The beginning started off a little slow, but it soon picked up as more of the characters and story was revealed. However, there were many points of view in this story so it made reading and keeping the details straight difficult at times. One aspect of the plot that played a big role was the Plague Wars, it is mentioned almost every chapter but it is not till the end that we really find out what actually happened during the wars. Even after we learned the truth I still wanted a bit more backstory, I felt there was a lot more to the story then what was presented.
In regards to the characters and their development, there were a lot of characters, and we saw both sides of the story (authority and those opposed) from multiple viewpoints. Since there were so many characters you did not see a great amount of development with each, but it was enough to allow the story to flow and be believable. However, in my opinion it did not allow people to connect with any of the characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the book story line was interesting and kept you wanting to learn the truth, and the characters were believable. I would recommend that you give the book a shot and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Life after the Plague Wars, life is controlled by the Central Authority who governs with an iron fist and allows for little flexibility. The Plague Wars not only caused the death of a majority of the population of earth, it has also caused technology to slowly disappeared and tightly controlled by the Authority. In response to the Plague Wars a series of ports are formed to be ready for an ‘invasion’ that is threaten to come, and to get the people ready for these invasions Academies were created. Despite the rigorous control of the Authority, there are groups of people who are ready to rebel against them and learn the truth about the Plague Wars.
I found myself intrigued by the promise of the synopsis, although when I first read it seemed like another story in a long line of dystopia stories that have come out recently. The beginning started off a little slow, but it soon picked up as more of the characters and story was revealed. However, there were many points of view in this story so it made reading and keeping the details straight difficult at times. One aspect of the plot that played a big role was the Plague Wars, it is mentioned almost every chapter but it is not till the end that we really find out what actually happened during the wars. Even after we learned the truth I still wanted a bit more backstory, I felt there was a lot more to the story then what was presented.
In regards to the characters and their development, there were a lot of characters, and we saw both sides of the story (authority and those opposed) from multiple viewpoints. Since there were so many characters you did not see a great amount of development with each, but it was enough to allow the story to flow and be believable. However, in my opinion it did not allow people to connect with any of the characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the book story line was interesting and kept you wanting to learn the truth, and the characters were believable. I would recommend that you give the book a shot and I look forward to reading more from this author.
March 1, 2019
plague, authority, pagans... what?..
The story is slow, crowded with characters, hardly anything is explained, and the explanation we get feels like a teaser. It simply feels like the story is not finished, as if maybe the author wanted to continue and write one more book?..
p.s. - I saw this book under a "paranormal" hashtag somewhere, and that's not true. It's a dystopian sci-fi
The story is slow, crowded with characters, hardly anything is explained, and the explanation we get feels like a teaser. It simply feels like the story is not finished, as if maybe the author wanted to continue and write one more book?..
p.s. - I saw this book under a "paranormal" hashtag somewhere, and that's not true. It's a dystopian sci-fi
November 23, 2014
I received a free copy of this book in return for a review, via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
It is difficult today, with the islands almost completely covered in forest, when even moors and uplands are succumbing to the spread of the trees, to visualise the terrain as it must have once existed.
The Shadow Academy, set in a sparsely populated Grand Britannia, in which fortress cities on the coast such as Petra Dumniorum in the West Country guard against an attack from mainland Evropa that never comes, and the rulers from Central Authority in Londonborough ban historical research, so no-one really knows what did happen in the Plague Wars that devastated the world over a century ago. The plot is driven by a secret society's desire to study the past and free the country from the Central Authority's rule, and the Central Authority's attempts to crush dissent and thwart its enemies.
It has an interesting premise, although I could have done without the weak love triangle sub-plot, and I would have liked to know a little more about the wider world. Grand Britannia has reverted to forest with the population in widely separated towns, but has there really been no contact at all with Evropa since the Plague Wars? Erish pirates from Ireland make an appearance in the story, so surely there would have been some contact with French traders or fishermen at least. I would be interested in reading a prequel set at the time of the Plague Wars now that I have some idea about what happened to devastate the world and decimate its population.
It is difficult today, with the islands almost completely covered in forest, when even moors and uplands are succumbing to the spread of the trees, to visualise the terrain as it must have once existed.
The Shadow Academy, set in a sparsely populated Grand Britannia, in which fortress cities on the coast such as Petra Dumniorum in the West Country guard against an attack from mainland Evropa that never comes, and the rulers from Central Authority in Londonborough ban historical research, so no-one really knows what did happen in the Plague Wars that devastated the world over a century ago. The plot is driven by a secret society's desire to study the past and free the country from the Central Authority's rule, and the Central Authority's attempts to crush dissent and thwart its enemies.
It has an interesting premise, although I could have done without the weak love triangle sub-plot, and I would have liked to know a little more about the wider world. Grand Britannia has reverted to forest with the population in widely separated towns, but has there really been no contact at all with Evropa since the Plague Wars? Erish pirates from Ireland make an appearance in the story, so surely there would have been some contact with French traders or fishermen at least. I would be interested in reading a prequel set at the time of the Plague Wars now that I have some idea about what happened to devastate the world and decimate its population.
June 11, 2016
I received a free uncorrected proof advance reading copy (ARC) in a PDF format through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program.
I enjoy the storyline of this book and I like some of the characters. Unfortunately, the way the points of view merge, certain facts seem repetitive, when I would rather know other facts. Thankfully, this improves as the story goes on. This book is a bit difficult to get into, but is interesting. I prefer one or two of the points of view, but there are quite a few going on at the same time. There are a lot of details.
I enjoy the storyline of this book and I like some of the characters. Unfortunately, the way the points of view merge, certain facts seem repetitive, when I would rather know other facts. Thankfully, this improves as the story goes on. This book is a bit difficult to get into, but is interesting. I prefer one or two of the points of view, but there are quite a few going on at the same time. There are a lot of details.
October 4, 2014
This was a well written book. But I found myself wanting more of the back story. It was hard to gauge what brought all of them to that place and times and the events surrounding them without a little more information. I also would have liked more information on the characters. It was difficult to learn who they were or to care about them without knowing more about them. As I said, well written. I just wanted more information. But i did enjoy the read nonetheless. Good for a rainy day read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews